boohoo....I was all set to head to the gym but decided I'd call ahead and they were closing early!!! So although food has been OP, I've been kinda slugish today. I suppose I could pop in a dvd, but really I don't have the energy. Thankfully though, I have all the Christmas gifts wrapped so no late night tonight!!!

angel-eyes, sorry your gym closed early. It sounds like a rest might suit you though - enjoy it.

Gina, thanks for your words of encouragement - from the looks of your ticker you have learned that lesson well. Have you written your weightloss story anywhere? I'd love to hear it, know how long you have been at this, details....etc.?

It is nearing 9 p.m., taking a break from the DVD I am watching to take some more clothes out of the dryer. I am folding clothes tonight while I watch TV. Keeping myself busy and occupied so I don't fall into my recent bad habits. I believe I'll be able to call this day perfect as far as diet and exercise goes. Gotta string a bunch of these days together, but it feels really good to have one down.

ledom.....Great job staying OP and keeping the ol' hands busy!!! Thats half the job I find....keeping fingers busy so that it tricks your mind into not eating. I used to knit to stop after hours snacking. hehe...then I got carpal tunnel, must have went a little overboard!!

Last night I was driving to the store and was coming up to a house (down a dark country side road) that was sooo decorated with ton's of lights.....shooting stars, trees, manger, house trimmed etc etc....well as I got closer, there the owner was dressed up in a SANTA SUIT WAVING TO ALL THE CARS!!! What a sight!!! I started tooting my horn and waving....now THAT is fun!!!

I got an early Christmas present this morning....DOWN ANOTHER POUND!!! Somethings gotten into my scale!!!....but I'll take it. I haven't had a chance to finish my food journal for yesterday but it seems like I'm sure eating alot!!

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!!! and if you're travelling on the road, be safe!!

Morning girls,

Whew, just finished week 9/day 1. I kept having these automotive metaphors as I did it. You just can't do Jillian's workout w/ sugar (christmas goodies) in your fuel tank - premimum +, i.e. clean food, is required. Boy did I feel sluggish and like I was caught in quick sand this a.m., but I did it. I feel like I sweated out a bunch of toxins and I am on my way and revved for the week. I plan to make it a good one!

Starting over completely: did week 1 day 1 today. You're right ledom, it was so much harder today than it was the first time with crappy "fuel" in your tank. Still, felt good to be done. Off to work now!

woohooo....ledom and Happydaisy..great job on the workouts..!!!! You two are putting me to shame, all I've done is a brisk walk yesterday with my new ipod. Today is laundry day...blech!! The gym is open tommorow, so I'll see about popping a dvd in....WTPA or Tony Little...hmmmm.

Hey angel-eyes, congrats on the new ipod. What a great christmas gift!

What kind of gym do you go to and do you expect it to be crowded come Jan. 1? There is a small gym less than a mile from my home. It is new and I have visited it before with the thought of joining. It is deluxe in terms of the amount and variety of equipment available. Everything looks so shiny and new though the actual floor space looks pretty small. As I was doing my workout yesterday w/ adequate, but not professional equipment, in my own basement, my mind wandered again to the possibility of joining that gym. Then I thought, oh no, not in January! But maybe by Feb. or March I will go check it out again.

And since you brought up videos angel-eyes I thought I'd mention my favorite video that I have enjoyed a lot and which seems to enhance the WBL workout. It is Ana Forrest's Strength and Spirit Yoga. You would need a little yoga experience to enjoy this I think. What I have noticed doing it after a few weeks of WBL is that it "informs" my body of the importance of breath and moving with the breath. The strength challenges of the yoga poses really call upon the muscle work I have been doing and perhaps the best thing is how wonderful the stretching feels. I have noticed some tightness since starting WBL. The first stretches in the S&S spirits I seem so tight, but by then end of the tapes everything, mostly my legs, feels so much more limber and the stretching feels great. I have a stack of yoga tapes but this one is the cream of the crop.

ohhh, thanks so much ledom for the video tape info. Its been awhile since I've done yoga as my wrists are very weak from carpal tunnel. Actually, just the other day I was grabbing a jar out of the fridge and whooosh, it just fell out of my hands. (happens alot, anyways...) So I have a hard time with anything to do with my wrists (ie pushups also) I would like some more stretching though everywhere else.

The gym I go to is Ladies of America. They have basic machines, a floating floor for classes and about 5 machines each of treadmills and elipticals and a couple of bikes. I consider it small'sh and some of the machines outdated but I was just told it has only been open for about 4 years. They also have a room for 'curves' members as that place just closed and now the members are allowed to come to my gym. Overall its good, but you're right....it will be crazy right now with NEW YEARS resolution'ers!!!!

week 9/day 2 done this a.m. I am sore - you think you get past that and then it sneaks up and gets you again!

angel-eyes, I don't know about your wrist on this video, there are quite a few weight bearing moves, mostly downward dog, that might be problematic for you

Ok, I finally got off my butt and exercised a bit. I bought a basic aerobic step from Sports Authority, and used it this morning with Jillians' Backside workout.

I gave up about 20 mins into it, and started to get my bitter attitude about how difficult it us to keep up with, but I actually feel good now that I've rested for a bit. It is very hard to get up at 6:30 in the morning, drag myself out to the living room, then suddenly start out by doing 30 jogging-knee-raises or 30-butt-kicks in a row. I've managed to make my own version that I can DO, but I truly battle boredom after just a few minutes. Jillian would be so disappointed in me!

Oh well, I'm hoping that my brain can just accept the fact that I'll be bored for 30 mins every morning!

Hey smartbutt - there is definitely a wall one hits. I hit it too usually around circuit 2 of the book workout. I often do a lot of "talking to myself" to push on through.

Hey, would you mind doing a review or synopsis of the tapes. I am very curious about them.

By the way rest day for me today. Usually one of the ways I get through a workout is saying, tomorrow is rest day (if it is.) Actually yesterday I didn't even think of rest day much to my surprise.

The tapes start out going right into immediate exercises, which I'm not used to. Even Tae Bo has you warm up first. But, maybe the exercises she starts with are part of a warm up. All I know is as soon as it starts she wants your heart rate to skyrocket. The "front" workout has you start with a high kick where your feet kick forward and to the side (as high as your waist, she insists - hah!) as a first move; I believe 30 times, alternating legs. The "back" workout has you start with some combination of jogging in place combined with knee lifts. It does indeed make your heart skyrocket, and personally I can't even do 30 of each as she does. But I AM a beginner.

The tapes require just two things, an aerobic step and some light hand weights. (I use 3 lb dumbells). She goes through some circuits that include many of the exercises from her book. Each circuit is repeated before moving on to the next one. She does a good job at mixing large-muscle exercises simultaneous with small-muscle exercises, so it keeps your heart rate going. Personally I look forward to the part of the circuit that requires you to lay on the floor. I think the whole workout is about 30 mins, and includes such exercises as crossover lunges, dead-man lifts, mountain climbers (everyone's favorite), buttkicks while doing hammer curls, and jumping jacks while lifting the weights over your head. She ends with some cool-down stretches.

I think 30 mins of cardio on a treadmill would be a good thing to do before starting the DVD workout. That way you're getting your 1 hour in. Its nice that the front workout is separate from the back, so every other day those muscles get a rest.

Jillian yells at "you" a few times during the workout ('don't even THINK of stopping now!'), and likes to be evil to the people doing the workout with her. If I'm alone, I yell some pleasant words back at her.

It's a tough, grueling 30 mins, but it is a great intense workout if you can keep with it!

Hey girls.....thanks for the recap of the video's. Thats good to know in case I buy them.
I finally made it to the gym today and It felt really good!! I did week7/day 1 and then the 40 minute treadmill stuff I do. Felt really good!!! Have a good night everyone!!

Hi chickies - sorry I've been kinda AWOL...I did make it to the gym yesterday and the day before for Days 1 & 2 of week 9. DSister and family are in town from Portland until tomorrow....I've sucked at being OP - but I'm over it now..

I tried to look for where I told my story...for the life of me I can't find the post...oh well...long story short, I kept my calories between 1200-1400 a day (journaling on an excel spread) and walked about an hour a day and lost 100 pounds over the course of a year....I mostly maintained over the next year or so, slowly gaining 15 of it back (I was still walking but not journalling)....now I'm journalling again and trying to take off the 15 gained and then some. I haven't lost much lately, but I'm not gaining either so I figure I'm up.

It sounds like everyone had a nice holiday weekend - YAY! It also sounds like we are all motivated to get moving and staying OP.. YAY squared!

I went to find a gym today.... and they were all closed....
So i climbed this!

www.pomonainc.org/realestate.html

Holy ****! This is one **** of a mountain! Every year they have a "king of the mountain" challenge, people come from all over the world to RUN up this. There is no way im doing that. But we did conquer it anyway!

Gym not required!